was looking for another creme foundation because the one i had was making me break out and picked this up. first things first, it's waaaay too light/yellow toned for my skin. i think this might've been because of the crappy in-store lighting. not so bad with a darker toned powder over it, though.the pros are that it's very easy to blend and the finish is natural looking & very buildable. however, it has a tendency to sink into lines, and it drew tons of attention to some dry flaky patches on my cheeks that weren't visible at all before. i had to remove all my makeup and exfoliate the crap out of my face before i could get it to look okay...never really had that problem before with other foundations.

unless you have perfect skin with no issues like dryness or acne or wrinkles (in which case you wouldn't really need foundation anyways), i'd probably skip this foundation.

Concept: Love the SPF 55 factor, and the fact that it offers both 3%avobenzone as well as Helioplex. Most makeup touting an SPF contains both lame sunscreen ingredients as well as lame percentages *of* those lame sunscreen ingredients.

Test 1 of SPF makeup: Both the ingredients and their percentages must be high enough to make an impact if you are depending on only a makeup product to protect you from the sun's harmful rays. Test 2: The makeup must offer an SPF that's high enough to begin with.

Well, even though the active ingredients & high SPF of the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Compact SPF 55 passes Tests 1 & 2, here's the rub before one gets a false sense of security with makeup containing SPF. You need to consider first how much actual old-fashioned lotion/cream-based bottled sunscreen one must apply to yield the full benefits & SPF stated on the bottle: i.e., a quarter-teaspoon to the face alone. Some derms insist on more than this, but a quarter-teaspoon is a ton & will have to suffice for me. So, be honest here. If you're riding on the SPF in your face makeup & skipping sunscreen as a pre-step: are you really applying this much foundation or powder to your face alone to yield all its sun-protecting benefits?

Moral: don't depend on the SPF in your makeup. At most, this is something I would use if I were staying inside the house all day.

(P.S. on SPF application: another quarter-teaspoon to the neck, & a full shotglass on the body from the clavicle down is required for sufficient protection.)

Colorwise: The lightest shade of this compact almost worked for me, and was a trifle pink. NC15/NW15 are both almost always too dark for me, & L'Oreal True Match in W1 is a perfect match even though I dislike its shiny texture/finish. So that should offer a sense of my coloring.

Finish: I returned this product because it isn't something I can use if Retin-A & glycolic acid are apart of my skincare regime. Like physical-based sunscreens (which Avobenzone/Helioplex isn't!), this compact makeup with SPF just dried out & fries my face due to the Retin-A I use. So, of course the texture wasn't all that hot as a result. I will repurchase this summer when I take time off from the above actives & am just self-tanning to give this makeup a second chance. If the finish improves then, I will up the current 3-lippie rating.